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I Like to Collect…

Sunday, January 09, 2011

I like to collect…

I like to collect characters—and they can be found anywhere!

Often, they appear in books. Stories of fantastical lands with dragons and fauns, wizards and princesses, priests, orphans, and talking beavers expose me to a world where folks do exactly what I think they can’t! So of course I must collect books. They are my constant friends each night before I sleep.

Characters also appear in music. Did you know that? Characters can be the subject of some piece of music (My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean!), or the voices of the instruments making the music (can you tell a flute from a piccolo?); but even greater, the musicians who interpret the music and make it their own—like your Aunt Maggie.

The characters we often miss are those all around us every day. The people in our families, our friends, our teachers at school—even people we don’t necessarily like—all are characters in some grand story. That’s why journaling is so important to me: it helps me to recall those characters who have never found their way into a piece of fiction or music, but who have lived great (or at least interesting) lives nonetheless.

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2 thoughts on “I Like to Collect…”

Sometimes those characters are (or were) relatives that you remember. I believe that even the most bland and boring person has unique moments when they become memorable, hilarious, or insightful. Keeping a written record of these moments is what makes sure your younger family members and your descendants will be aware of them.

I tend to sit around and collect dust. Actually, our house is an abode to all sorts of allergens: dog dandruff (ruff, ruff), cat and dog hair, mold, mildew, pollen, and of course, mostly dust- accompanied by cobwebs.

But I also collect books, music, old computers and other electronic stuff, musical instruments, and old cars. My wife hates my collecting (a.k.a. hording)-especially the cars. But then, she is the most responsible for all of the dog dandruff, cat and dog hair, mold, mildew, pollen, dust and cobwebs. To this list I can also add trash. Some trash- that which is actually supposed to be picked up by the professional collectors- is starting to collect itself because my wife is very bad about keeping the bills paid-up.

As far as characters, we are certainly a family of eccentric characters.